Bingo is a game of chance played with randomly drawn numbers, in which players match selected numbers against numbers that have been pre-printed on 5×5 matrices. The matrices may be printed on paper, card stock, or electronically represented and are referred to as cards. Many versions conclude the game when the first person achieves a specified pattern from the drawn numbers. The winner is usually required to call out the word “Bingo,” thereby alerting the other players and the caller of a possible win. All wins are checked for accuracy before the win is officially confirmed. Subsequently, the prize is secured by the winning player and a new game begins. In this illustrative version of bingo, players compete against one another for the prize or jackpot.
Modern bingo has evolved into multiple variations, with each jurisdiction's gambling laws regulating how the game is played. There are also nearly unlimited patterns that may be specified for play. Some patterns only require one number to be matched, while others are cover-all games that award the jackpot for covering an entire card, and other games award prizes to players for matching no numbers or achieving no pattern.
The most common bingo cards are flat pieces of cardboard or disposable paper that contain 25 squares arranged in five vertical columns and five horizontal rows. Each space in the grid contains a number, with the exception of the center space, which is usually marked “free” or “free space,” and is considered automatically filled.
A typical bingo game utilizes the numbers 1 through 75. The five columns of the card are labeled ‘B’, ‘I’, ‘N’, ‘G’, and ‘O’ from left to right. The range of printed numbers that can appear on the card is normally restricted by column, with the ‘B’ column only containing numbers between 1 and 15 inclusive, the ‘I’ column containing only 16 through 30, ‘N’ containing 31 through 45, ‘G’ containing 46 through 60, and ‘0’ containing 61 through 75.
During some variants of bingo, players are issued three 25-number cards which contain all 75 numbers that may be drawn. Players mark which numbers they wish to play, and then daub those numbers according to the numbers drawn. In addition, double-action cards have two numbers in each square.
A player wins by completing a row, column, or diagonal. The most chips one can place on a bingo board without having bingo is 19, not counting the free space. In order for this to happen, only one empty cell can reside in each row and each column, and at least one empty cell must be in each diagonal.
In addition to a straight line, many bingo halls may consider other patterns as a valid bingo. For example, a 2×2 square of marked squares in the upper right-hand corner would be considered a “postage stamp.” Another common special game requires players to cover the four corners. There are several other patterns, such as a Roving ‘L’ which requires players to cover all B's and top or bottom row or all O's and top or bottom row. Another common pattern is a blackout, covering all 24 numbers and the free space.
The numbers which are called in a game of bingo may be drawn utilizing a number of methods to randomly generate the ball call. With the expansion of computer technology in bingo, electronic random number generators are now commonplace in most jurisdictions. However, some jurisdictions require mechanical ball draws that may utilize a randomly shuffled deck of bingo calling cards, a mechanical ball blower that mixes ping pong balls with blown air, or a cage which is turned to mix small wooden balls. All methods essentially generate a random string of numbers that players match to their bingo cards.
Keno is another lottery style game that also draws balls. Players wager by marking an “S” over the “spot” choices on a blank keno ticket form with 80 numbered selection boxes (1 to 80). After all players successfully place their wagers, the casino draws 20 balls (numbers) at random. Some casinos automatically call the ball draw at preset timed intervals regardless of whether or not players are waiting to place a wager.
The ball draw in keno occurs at the keno booth. The ball draw is typically determined by one of four devices that include a traditional “Rabbit Ear” blower; an automated blower in which the balls are encoded and read by a computer; a random number generator; and a hand cage that includes a spinning metal ball cage which rolls the numbers into a slot where they are validated by a person.
Keno runners walk around calling, “keno!” and offer to carry players' wagers to the keno booth for processing. The keno runner is handed the wager payment and the “inside ticket” (keno wager forms filled out by the customer) and takes the wager and ticket to the keno counter for processing. The keno runner returns with an “outside” ticket, which is the official wager receipt.
After picking wager numbers, recording them at the keno booth and obtaining the “keno ticket” (official wager receipt), the player watches the ball draw in progress as the spot (number) selections light either on an electronic keno board or on a video monitor. Keno displays are typically found throughout the casino and sometimes even appear on a television channel in casino hotel rooms.